不良研究社

"Child Find" is the process of locating, identifying, and evaluating children with disabilities to ensure that they receive services to which they are entitled. Children who are suspected of having a disability can be referred for a possible evaluation at no cost to determine if they are eligible for special education services. Referrals of children with a suspected delay or disability can be made to your local education agency (school district).

Children participating in Tennessee Early Intervention System will have a transition meeting with your local education agency (school district) scheduled by the service coordinator

To make a developmental or speech/language referral with Sumner County Schools please contact the Preschool Assessment Team by completing this , or call 615-451-6352.

If you think your child between birth and 36 months (age 0 to 3 years) may have a disability and needs an evaluation, please call at 1-800-852-7157 to make a referral. TEIS will help families locate services for infants and toddlers with disabilities before the child reaches school age.

Eligibility

Early Childhood Special Education addresses individual needs within the context of developmentally appropriate early learning experiences including early literacy, math, play, and social areas. Preschool special education is a state and federally mandated program for children ages three through five who are experiencing challenges in their learning and development and meet eligibility criteria for special education and related services.

Every school district provides special education services to young children. Over 13,000 children in Tennessee receive individualized special education services each year as a part of IDEA 619 Preschool.

• Eligibility for children is determined by criteria that have been established by federal and state rules and regulations.
• Eligible children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
• Each child with a disability has an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. Parents, teachers, therapists, and school administrators make up the IEP team and collaborate to write the IEP. The IEP lists the individual goals for the child and the services the child receives.
• A young child who is determined eligible for special education receives services in the least restrictive environment; children should be educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. This may include a public school, Head Start, a community based child care setting, or the home as determined by the child's IEP team.
• Special education is not a place but a system of services and supports for children with disabilities.

On-Site Speech/Language Therapy

Children with an identified speech impairment and/or language impairment may receive speech/language therapy services in small group sessions.

Program Locations

• Burrus Elementary
• Shalom Zone
• JW Wiseman Elementary
• Westmoreland Elementary

Developmental Pre-Kindergarten

The blended preschool classroom is a structured teaching environment where children with special needs and typically developing peers learn together in a classroom that is staffed by one special education teacher and a minimum of two full-time paraprofessionals.  Our developmental preschool classroom follow the Creative Curriculum to address all areas of child development including fine and gross motor, adaptive, cognitive, communication, and social-emotional.  Our classrooms also use the 鈥淜eeping Kids Safe鈥� curriculum which is a personal safety/child abuse curriculum. 

For additional questions, please call 615-451-6352.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

The Sumner County early childhood classroom is designed to give students a variety of learning experiences through interactions with other students or teachers and includes many discoveries and explorations students can make on their own and with others. All classrooms follow the Children spend their day in a variety of settings, such as centers, outdoor play, and learning together in small groups. Because young children learn through play, classrooms are designed with the young child in mind. Teachers observe and teach based on the different stages of physical, social, and academic mastery each child has shown. The early childhood classroom builds to kindergarten readiness.

Pre-Kindergarten

Volunteer Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) is tuition free, serving students who have turned four by August 15th. Enrollment priority is first given to students who are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on income levels set each year by the Department of Health and Human Services, or who have lost a parent as a direct result of war. Second priority is given to students with disabilities, students identified as English language learners, in state custody, or those identified as educationally at-risk. If space remains, students who are considered unserved may be enrolled. Sumner County accepts applications from all student families. FAQs about VPK

Student applications are always accepted for the current year, although students may be placed on a waiting list. Applications for the upcoming year will be available each spring. Final PreK locations for the upcoming school year will be announced in late spring and listed below. If a parent would like to request a different PreK location, the parent may contact Susan Breitling to make the request.

For more information, please contact Susan Breitling, Elementary Coordinator, PK-5

Typical Peers

The application process opens in January and closes the first week of March. Thirteen of Sumner County’s developmental preschool classes are blended classrooms where four typically developing peers are placed to serve as language and social models.  The blended preschool classroom is a structured teaching environment where children with special needs and typically developing peers learn together in a classroom that is staffed by one special education teacher and a minimum of two full-time paraprofessionals. 

All positions are filled in May. The typical peer application will be available during the application window of January to early March. If you suspect that your preschool age child may have a disability or need an evaluation, please learn more about the process here.

For more information, please visit /index.php/typical-peer-program and contact Laurie Phillips, Special Education PreK Coordinator 

Additional Options

Mid-Cumberland Head Start may be reached at 615-451-9804 or 615-451-0323.

Additional Sumner County child care providers can be found .

Credit Recovery is a program which provides students an opportunity to regain credit in a required course they have previously failed with a grade of 50-59. Upon successful completion of the credit recovery coursework, students will receive a credit at the end of the term. Students passing credit recovery shall receive a passing grade of sixty percent (60%) according to TN State Board Policy 3.103. The student transcript shall denote that the credit was attained through credit recovery. The original failing grade may also be listed on the transcript but shall not factor into student GPA.

Please contact your High School to learn about what opportunites are offered.